Not just some… bag? No, it was shaped like a human corpse. A dead one.
Like, most literally.
There was someone dragging the bag, and whatever was inside definitely wasn't groceries.Doyun reacted fast, yanking Yejun behind a corner. The two didn't run though, they watched. Thankfully, the person wasn't heading in their direction.As Yejun squinted to get a better look, he noticed something dark dripping out of the bag. Red. Definitely blood.Whoever this was, they weren't being subtle. They dragged the bag slowly, carelessly, like they weren't even worried about being seen. What the hell? But that wasn't the point. The real issue? This person was probably dragging around a corpse. A dead body. Which meant... they were probably a murderer.
Yejun's breath caught in his throat. Should they run? Stay hidden? Do something??
He glanced at Doyun, expecting him to be freaking out too, but—nah. Doyun's usual smug, teasing expression was gone. His face was serious. His eyes were cold, unreadable. He didn't look scared. Just... focused. What kind of person was this guy? The mysterious figure was almost out of sight now, their shadow stretching across the cold stone floor. Yejun finally whispered, voice trembling, "W-was that... a corpse?"
Doyun glanced at him and muttered, "Probably."
"Shit… What do we do?"
"Let's just go back to our dorms. I don't know who that was, so I don't care." How can he be so chill about this?? Still, he wasn't wrong. Yejun caught up with him, and the two walked down the dim hallway, moonlight slicing through the windows and lighting their path. The halls were dead silent, nobody else out. Eventually, they reached the dorm dungeon. It was even darker here, shadows swallowing everything whole. Yejun finally made it back to his bed. He changed into his pajamas, but there was no way he could sleep.
His brain wouldn't shut up.
If that was a dead body… who was it? Who killed them? Probably the person dragging them, right? Eventually, he gave up trying to sleep and pulled out a spellbook. In the normal world, school had never meant anything to him. It didn't here either. But magic? That was different. He didn't even notice when he passed out on the book. When he woke up, he was so late. Like, skipped-three-classes late.
"Damn it…"
Mr. Rinh's class was first and second period. He flunked both. Brutal.
The clock said it was still third period—his free one. So technically he wasn't skipping anymore. Not really. Lunch was just a few minutes away, anyway. He jumped out of bed, rushed into clothes, since he was running late he had forgotten his robe, thank god, he hated that thing. Yejun slung his bag over his shoulder, and sprinted to the dining hall. He could already hear the lunch bell ringing. Great. Late again. When he finally burst through the massive dining room doors, all heads turned to him.
And like clockwork, whispers. Yejun stood frozen, drowning in stares, until the director cleared his throat and spoke. "I'm sorry, but may I have everyone's attention? Yejun, sit down please." Usually Yejun would usually be surprised to have the director know his name, but now? Now he had just gotten used to others knowing who his name...Whether it was for the wrong reasons or just family.
Yejun nodded quickly and did as told, sliding into the seat next to Owen, Rae, Hana, and of course the worst one, Doyun.
Owen leaned in. "We're having an announcement, by the way—" But the director began speaking again before he could finish. "As you all know, I don't usually make announcements. But today, I'm required to." A pause. Heavy. "You may wonder why I'm informing you of this directly. Normally, this would not be something we'd share. But we believe some students may have already found out… or will very soon. It's better that I address it now, properly."
Another pause.
He glanced at the teachers beside him, exchanged a nod, then finally said it:
"This may be hard to process, but… a student in our school.. has been killed last night."
The room erupted. Screams. Crying. Loud whispers. The younger kids were freaking out. The older ones just stared in horror. But Yejun didn't hear any of it.
His eyes locked on Doyun's.
Doyun was already staring back.
They both knew.
No words needed. They knew what they saw last night. The director raised his hands. "Now, now, please calm down. This isn't meant to scare you, it's a precaution." Then he stepped down and returned to his seat.
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-Author
Thank you for reading this chapter!